Wednesday, March 4, 2009

A Little Lemon Juice Can Brighten And Smooth Skin

We love any beauty product we can get our hands on. But we also adore natural beauty products, too.

Sometimes, you don't have to spend a lot, to freshen up your skin, for instance. And that's where we turn to Marcia Kilgore, skin expert and founder of Bliss Spa, and her newest beauty venture appearing this May at Target called Soap & Glory Skin Care (an expansion of her current bath & body items).

The 40-ish blonde hair bob beauty with the amazing bone structure, has been talking about lemon juice. And how the citric acid in it, can do some amazing things for your skin.

"As for your face, it depends on your skin type but I would recommend exfoliating two to four times a week for oily skin and less often for dry/sensitive types. Remember to pay particular attention to blackheads, blocked pores, flaky foreheads and oily chins. Want to pump up your scrub? Squirt a little lemon juice into your favorite facial scrub to boost its natural brightening power and exfoliating action. (Lemon juice contains citric acid, one of the five alpha hydroxy acids that dissolve the glue that keeps dead cells stuck to your skin.)"

And that's not all this tart, little juice can do. Marcia Kilgore also uses nature's lemons to diminish the appearance of brown spots. She says that "a daily dab of lemon juice will lighten them. Citric acid is magic."

As far as exfoliating the dry, winter skin from your body, stay away from scrubbers like loofahs. We got this advice from famous plastic surgeon Dr. Michelle Copeland, who advised us back in June, to throw away our loofahs and washcloths because these bath items break the normal skin barrier, and bacteria can easily sneak in.

Marcia Kilgore tends to agree with Dr. Copeland.

"Exfoliation should be a regular feature of your body and facial routine all year round. Incorporate a body exfoliator into your shower routine at least three times weekly to slough away dead skin cells quicker. Not only will it simultaneously stimulate circulation, your after-shower moisture lotions will sink in more readily. And by the way, just say no to loofahs. Once used, they are loaded with bacteria build-up.